In eight days, Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold will all be free to commit to a non-English club after their contracts expire this June.
While on the pitch, Liverpool enjoy positions of comfort at the top of both the Premier League and league-phase of the Champions League, off it, they are in a race against the clock to retain the services of three players integral to its successes over the previous half-decade.
Liverpool have opened negotiations with the trio and as of December 4th, have tabled at least one offer to van Dijk according to football journalist David Ornstein. Four days later, Ornstein reported that Salah also received an offer.
A growing trend of letting contracts run down
Fenway Sports Group are understandably cautious about handing out large contracts to players over 30. Between 2021 and this past summer, the club permitted Gini Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino, and Joel Matip to depart either for free or reduced fees once in their thirties, despite their standings as key first team figures when fit.
The next few weeks will pit Liverpool’s clear hesitation to depart from that approach with Salah and van Dijk, ages 32 and 33 respectively, against the reality that the two remain absolutely crucial to the club’s chances of success on the pitch in the short term.
The scenario with Alexander-Arnold differs in that at age 26, the fullback is in what is traditionally the prime years of a player and that even two to three years from now, he would likely still attract a significant transfer fee should he move on.
Of the three players, Alexander-Arnold is arguably in the position of greatest authority as he considers his future, particularly because he can use what is now well documented interest from Real Madrid as leverage for more favorable terms.
From both the financial and purely sporting angles, it was incredibly poor of Liverpool to allow a player of his value to reach this stage in his contract.
Balancing the books and on-pitch results
At the present moment, however, the uncertainty over the futures of the three players has posed no disruptions on the pitch.
Even as the possibility of their Anfield exits grows by the day, Salah, van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold have continued to perform at exceptional levels to help their side to a perfect Champions League record thus far and a four-point lead atop the Premier League with a game in hand.
The performances of the three starts throughout this season have underscored their immense value to this side and the blatant reality that it would be a mistake for the club to allow even one of them to leave for free this summer.
On Sunday, Salah presented another series of examples to an already abundant list to support his case as to why Liverpool should be more receptive to his terms in the ongoing negotiations.
With two goals and two assists in Liverpool’s 6-3 drubbing of Tottenham, the Egyptian broke yet another record by becoming the first Premier League player in history to record double figures in both categories before Christmas.
His output at Spurs took his tally of goals and assists to 15 and 11 respectively-top of the league in both charts.
At the back meanwhile, Liverpool’s strong defensive record this season is largely a testament to the world class quality van Dijk continues to provide.
The Reds have conceded just 16 goals in 16 matches, the joint fewest in the league along with Arsenal, who have played one match more. Liverpool’s defense has been even stronger in the Champions League, where they have not allowed one goal since the third minute of the campaign.
Leading by example
Much of the credit for that belongs to the Liverpool skipper, whose leadership, positional awareness, and composure has been crucial in keeping his side’s backline so resolute.
Similarly, Alexander-Arnold’s assets continue to prove valuable for his side. The defender’s ability to catch opponents out with his long range passing has seen him top the list of most assists for a Premier League defender while his habit of drifting into midfield often enhances the Reds’ control in the middle of the park.
While the right-back’s defending has often come under criticism, he has cut a sharper figure in the defensive third over the past few months after stating his intent to improve that side of his game under Arne Slot.
The details of Liverpool’s initial proposals to Salah, van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold and the exact stages of negotiations is still unclear.
What is quite clear though, given how important the trio remain on the pitch, is that as the clock ticks down to January and beyond, the players will have greater power to set the terms for their contract extensions.
If Fenway Sports Group loses any of them on a free transfer because it cannot meet those terms, it will have only itself to blame.